By Emma Wu
Bombs are one of the primary weapons used in wars. In World War II, the Allied powers dropped over 3.4 million tons of bombs on the Axis powers. The superior weaponry of the Allied powers over the Axis was one of the significant factors leading to their victory. The one that helped develop some of this crucial World War II technology is Emma Rotor.
Emma Rotor was born in the Philippines around 1913. Her husband, Arturo Rotor, was famously known for his work in writing, medicine, and politics. He published several literary works including The Wound and the Scar (1937), Confidentiality, Doctor (1965), The Men Who Play God (1983), and many more. Not only was he a writer, he was the executive secretary of the Philippine Commonwealth Government, and a distinguished physician and director of a university medical school. Emma Rotor was often seen as the steady, supporting background figure for her husband. However, she was a successful researcher, scientist, and teacher in her own right.
The couple moved to Baltimore from the Philippines for graduate studies. Emma Rotor was a university math teacher who was widely admired by her students for her ability to explain and simplify the concepts of math. She loved math and was able to convince her students to do the same. Not only was she loved for her ability to teach, she was loved by the people around her for her accepting, non-judgemental personality, as well as her companionable intelligence. Perhaps in a stark contrast, she was also involved in several weapons research projects. While she lived in the United States, she conducted ground-breaking research regarding World War II technology.
She was a key figure in the government division responsible for developing the proximity fuze. The proximity fuze is the technology that allows bombs to detonate right before they reach the target. Before, bombs were considered unwieldy and inefficient, detonating prematurely or away from their targets. The proximity fuze allows for more accuracy in detonation on targets, allowing the bomb to explode as it reaches the target, instead of landing then exploding. Before the proximity fuze, it took over 20,000 shells to take down one Japanese fighter plane. However, with the proximity fuze, the British took down almost 80% of German “buzz bombs”, winged bombs that were powered by a jet engine. The fuze, according to the War Department, was considered “one of the outstanding scientific developments of World War II … second only to the atomic bomb.”
In fact, her significant role in developing weaponry led many people to believe she was part of the Manhattan Project, the research developing the atomic bomb. As it turns out, she never had a role in the atomic bomb. However, nonetheless, she has played a significant role in history, one that goes unrecognized presently. There is very little literature regarding Emma Rotor’s role in history. She is often seen in the background of her husband’s work. Her own work, though, was arguably more important and significant than what anyone could have imagined.
